Wrist Pulse Positions (cùn, guān, chǐ)

Wrist Pulse Positions (cùn, guān, chǐ) is a Chinese / TCM & Daoist — wrist pulse diagnosis body system as transmitted through the lineage The Mai Jing (Pulse Classic), attributed to Wang Shuhe, records the bilateral cun, guan, and chi pulse positions and their zang-organ correspondences. This system renders those eighteen palpation observations as a front-view schematic: three longitudinal wrist stations on each side, each represented at superficial, middle, and deep palpation depth.. This page lists every point in the system with sourced placements and links to cross-tradition correspondences curated for The Body Spiritual.

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Primary sources

Wang Shuhe, Mai Jing (Pulse Classic) (English translation by Yang Shou-zhong, Blue Poppy Press, 1997) — The canonical pulse treatise for the cun, guan, and chi positions, their three depth levels, and the associated zang-organ readings.
Nigel Wiseman and Feng Ye, A Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine (2nd ed., Paradigm Publications, 1998) — Modern terminology and explanatory reference for cun/guan/chi wrist positions, organ correspondences, and yin-yang distinctions.

Known lineage variants

The classical texts describe palpation stations and diagnostic interpretation, not normalized front-view screen coordinates; the coordinates here are an editorial body projection. The wrist region is placed at y 0.605–0.635 to match the corpus body silhouette, and the uncertainty radius is widened accordingly.
Schools differ in how they name, sequence, and interpret the organ assignments at the wrist; this map follows the Mai Jing convention requested here: left cun Heart, left guan Liver, left chi Kidney-yin; right cun Lung, right guan Spleen, right chi Kidney-yang.
Superficial, middle, and deep are palpation levels at one position, not three separate anatomical structures. A small x offset is an explicit rendering device so the three levels remain selectable in the front view.
Anatomical right is projected to x below 0.5 under the corpus front-view convention; the left and right layouts are mirrored around the x = 0.500 midline.

Related systems

No other systems share this tradition label.

Points

Anatomical right wrist — cun (Lung) — superficial — Distal wrist position · fū palpation
Anatomical right wrist — cun (Lung) — middle — Distal wrist position · middle palpation
Anatomical right wrist — cun (Lung) — deep — Distal wrist position · chén palpation
Anatomical right wrist — guan (Spleen) — superficial — Middle wrist position · fū palpation
Anatomical right wrist — guan (Spleen) — middle — Middle wrist position · middle palpation
Anatomical right wrist — guan (Spleen) — deep — Middle wrist position · chén palpation
Anatomical right wrist — chi (Kidney-yang) — superficial — Proximal wrist position · fū palpation
Anatomical right wrist — chi (Kidney-yang) — middle — Proximal wrist position · middle palpation
Anatomical right wrist — chi (Kidney-yang) — deep — Proximal wrist position · chén palpation
Anatomical left wrist — cun (Heart) — superficial — Distal wrist position · fū palpation
Anatomical left wrist — cun (Heart) — middle — Distal wrist position · middle palpation
Anatomical left wrist — cun (Heart) — deep — Distal wrist position · chén palpation
Anatomical left wrist — guan (Liver) — superficial — Middle wrist position · fū palpation
Anatomical left wrist — guan (Liver) — middle — Middle wrist position · middle palpation
Anatomical left wrist — guan (Liver) — deep — Middle wrist position · chén palpation
Anatomical left wrist — chi (Kidney-yin) — superficial — Proximal wrist position · fū palpation
Anatomical left wrist — chi (Kidney-yin) — middle — Proximal wrist position · middle palpation
Anatomical left wrist — chi (Kidney-yin) — deep — Proximal wrist position · chén palpation

Frequently asked

What is Anatomical right wrist — cun (Lung) — superficial?

This point represents the superficial palpation level of the anatomical right cun, the distal wrist position associated with the Lung in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the middle and deep levels.

What is Anatomical right wrist — cun (Lung) — middle?

This point represents the middle palpation level of the anatomical right cun, the distal wrist position associated with the Lung in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the small x separation keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and deep levels.

What is Anatomical right wrist — cun (Lung) — deep?

This point represents the deep palpation level of the anatomical right cun, the distal wrist position associated with the Lung in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and middle levels.

What is Anatomical right wrist — guan (Spleen) — superficial?

This point represents the superficial palpation level of the anatomical right guan, the middle wrist position associated with the Spleen in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the middle and deep levels.

What is Anatomical right wrist — guan (Spleen) — middle?

This point represents the middle palpation level of the anatomical right guan, the middle wrist position associated with the Spleen in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the small x separation keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and deep levels.

What is Anatomical right wrist — guan (Spleen) — deep?

This point represents the deep palpation level of the anatomical right guan, the middle wrist position associated with the Spleen in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and middle levels.

What is Anatomical right wrist — chi (Kidney-yang) — superficial?

This point represents the superficial palpation level of the anatomical right chi, the proximal wrist position associated with Kidney-yang in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the middle and deep levels.

What is Anatomical right wrist — chi (Kidney-yang) — middle?

This point represents the middle palpation level of the anatomical right chi, the proximal wrist position associated with Kidney-yang in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the small x separation keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and deep levels.

What is Anatomical right wrist — chi (Kidney-yang) — deep?

This point represents the deep palpation level of the anatomical right chi, the proximal wrist position associated with Kidney-yang in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and middle levels.

What is Anatomical left wrist — cun (Heart) — superficial?

This point represents the superficial palpation level of the anatomical left cun, the distal wrist position associated with the Heart in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the middle and deep levels.

What is Anatomical left wrist — cun (Heart) — middle?

This point represents the middle palpation level of the anatomical left cun, the distal wrist position associated with the Heart in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the small x separation keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and deep levels.

What is Anatomical left wrist — cun (Heart) — deep?

This point represents the deep palpation level of the anatomical left cun, the distal wrist position associated with the Heart in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and middle levels.

What is Anatomical left wrist — guan (Liver) — superficial?

This point represents the superficial palpation level of the anatomical left guan, the middle wrist position associated with the Liver in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the middle and deep levels.

What is Anatomical left wrist — guan (Liver) — middle?

This point represents the middle palpation level of the anatomical left guan, the middle wrist position associated with the Liver in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the small x separation keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and deep levels.

What is Anatomical left wrist — guan (Liver) — deep?

This point represents the deep palpation level of the anatomical left guan, the middle wrist position associated with the Liver in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and middle levels.

What is Anatomical left wrist — chi (Kidney-yin) — superficial?

This point represents the superficial palpation level of the anatomical left chi, the proximal wrist position associated with Kidney-yin in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the middle and deep levels.

What is Anatomical left wrist — chi (Kidney-yin) — middle?

This point represents the middle palpation level of the anatomical left chi, the proximal wrist position associated with Kidney-yin in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the small x separation keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and deep levels.

What is Anatomical left wrist — chi (Kidney-yin) — deep?

This point represents the deep palpation level of the anatomical left chi, the proximal wrist position associated with Kidney-yin in the selected Mai Jing convention. Its front-view coordinate is a schematic projection of the wrist station, and the slight lateral offset keeps this depth visible beside the superficial and middle levels.